Vehicle

2012 Ford Focus SEL 4dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl 6AM)

Review

Ordered my Focus SEL in July '11 with My Ford Touch, moon roof, and premium stereo.
MFT module failed within a few weeks.
The dealer replaced the computer and its been mostly reliable since.
(Ford increased the warranty to 5 years on the module because of ongoing problems).
DON"T BUY MFT - its a waste of money.
Its a pain to remember all of the voice commands and everything that SYNC is capable of doing can be done in 10 times faster by adjusting a knob.
The transmission is TERRIBLE.
Unusual hesitations, bad shift intervals, and unpredictable acceleration are common.
The recall improved performance, but didn't solve the problems.

Favorite Features

Its a very stylish car.
I would have preferred to see the euro grill (2014 fiesta has it now).
The car feels more solid than others in its class.
Close the door on a focus, for example, and then compare to the same experience on a Toyota.

Suggested Improvements

The transmission!
I won't buy another car with this transmission.
Trunk space is very limited - even with the rear seats down.
My '87 civic had more cargo space.
MFT/SYNC is a waste of money.
The vehicle health report feature is useless.
Oh, and one last little gripe - the rear wiper switch is in a strange spot and way too easy to accidentally turn on.

† Edmunds.com received the highest numerical score in the proprietary J.D. Power 2014 Third-Party Automotive Website Evaluation Study℠. Results based on responses from 3,381 responses, measuring 14 companies and measures third-party automotive website usefulness among new and used vehicle shoppers. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of owners surveyed from January 2014. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.